


The Vast Universe

by Vociferous_Chaos



Series: One-Shots and Shorts [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Damien can be an asshole, Fantasy AU, Ivan has anxiety, M/M, Phoenix Rising, harsh name calling, harsh physical contact, he cares though, my writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23435185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vociferous_Chaos/pseuds/Vociferous_Chaos
Summary: Disclaimer: Characters, story, and plot belong to me; however, some of the dialogue belongs to Fennah from YouTube.Fennah's Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/Failsafe272--Ivan is struggling with a nagging feeling of insignificance after Damien makes a comment. After going to Damien in hopes of getting a different reaction, he finds that the older being's caring side shows through in the end. Afterward, Damien and Asher have a nice moment as they watch the stars.
Relationships: Damien/Asher, Michael/Sylas
Series: One-Shots and Shorts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685848
Kudos: 2





	The Vast Universe

Damien’s in a mood. He’s lying on the couch with an arm draped over his eyes, head aching from one too many drinks the night prior. He lifts his arm and cracks open one of his eyes to see Michael looking at him with a teasing grin.

“Have fun last night?”

He doesn’t gratify his brother with a response and instead lifts his hand to introduce him to a particular finger. Michael bursts into surprised laughter, leaning against the wall for support as he doubles over. Damien groans as the noise rings in his head, flaring his headache again.

“Sorry, sorry. You’re too easy to annoy.” He walks over to Damien and hands him a glass of water and some painkillers. “Asher said you’d probably have a headache when you woke up, so being the good big brother I am, I decided to get you something to help.”

“Please, you’re older by four minutes,” Damien grumbles, drinking the water and taking the painkillers.

“Still older.” He shoves Damien’s legs off the couch and sits down, grinning yet again as his brother almost falls off with his feet. “Speaking of your boyfriend, he sort of caused a power surge, and now the lights in the left-wing aren’t working.”

“There’s the real reason you came.” Damien stands up and groans as everything starts spinning around him. He takes a moment to steady himself and then looks at Michael with an annoyed glare.

“Don’t give me that look, Damien. You know Asher likes to screw with the electronics in every part of the house. It was only a matter of time before he broke something.”

“Why can’t he fix it?” He makes his way to the kitchen and pours himself a mug of hot water, adding chamomile and mint to it once it’s filled.

“He and Sylas went on their mission today, so he isn’t home _to_ fix it.” Michael takes the mug from Damien and sips it. He hands it back to Damien with an innocent smile. “That is very good.”

“You’re annoying,” is all Damien says as he finishes his tea. He puts the mug in the dishwasher and then makes his way to the left-wing of the house. It’s a large house, fitting well over a hundred members of the Alliance into it, so it takes him a little bit to get there. When he does finally get there, the lights are indeed out and not turning on.

He rolls his eyes as he makes his way to the panel, ignoring the odd smell of fried wires. He opens the panel on the wall, and the scent gets significantly worse. There was an assortment of different colored wires: some were red, others yellow, some green, a few blue, and a single black.

The sound of footsteps draws his focus to the door, and he turns to see Ivan, the youngest Morí in the Alliance, staring at him with Michael behind him.

“Can I help?” Ivan asks, stepping into the room. “I can flick the light switch to make sure they’re working.”

“No.” Damien shoots his brother a glare, and Michael just smiles. “If you turn the lights on when it’s not ready, you’ll electrocute me, and quite honestly, I don’t trust you to turn them on at the right time.”

“I’ll make sure he does. I’ll give him the okay,” Michael speaks up, earning yet another glare from Damien. He just laughs and points Ivan to the light switch down the hallway. “Don’t flick it until I say.”

Damien rolls his eyes and turns back to the panel, immediately getting to work. Michael watches from the doorway, waiting for Damien to give him the okay to tell Ivan to hit the lights. He closes the door to the room Damien's in and starts to walk towards the kitchen to grab a quick snack. He grabs an apple from the fridge and makes his way back to the left-wing.

"Whatcha doing?" The sudden voice of Malachi, another Morí, makes Michael shriek in surprise, making Malachi collapse in a fit of laughter. He composes himself quickly and stands back up, cocking his head to the side expectantly.

"Damien's fixing the lights."

"And Ivan?" Malachi gestures down the hall to where Ivan is standing by a light switch.

"He's waiting for my signal to hit the lights. You know, to make him feel important and included. It's a confidence booster."

"Really?" Malachi's face splits into a too-wide grin, showing far too many teeth. "Ivan hit it!"

Michael's eyes widen as Ivan flicks the light switch, and he quickly opens the door to see Damien clutching his hand. Ivan quickly rushes in and crouches beside him, eyes wide with panic.

"Mr. Evans, I'm so sorry. I didn't-" Ivan gets shut up by Damien moving fast and pinning him to the wall with his arm at his throat. His golden eyes turn red from anger, and his teeth extend into fangs and bare into a snarl.

"You good-for-nothing, insignificant little-"

"Damien, drop him." His head whips towards Michael, glaring daggers at his brother. If looks could kill, Michael would be dead. "Damien, drop him." He repeats, and this time Damien obeys. He releases Ivan, and he drops harshly to the ground. "Thank you."

"M-Mr. Evan's, I'm really-"

"Shut it!" Damien hisses and leaves the room, opting to let someone else fix the lights.

“We were having such a good day,” Michael mumbles, following his brother back to the central building.

**later that day**

The youngest Morí sits at the table with a massive book in front of him, staring at the page with a picture of multiple earths. His stomach churns at the thought of feeling so small, so unimportant. He wants the feeling to go away, but he doesn’t know what the cause of it is. He shakes his head as his eyes land on a particular word. It’s an element, he knows that, but he doesn’t know its purpose.

He stands up from the table and walks down the hall, knowing he might end up regretting what he’s about to do. He looks at the silver plaque on the door, the name Damien Evans engraved neatly into it. He lifts his hand and knocks, and upon hearing a muffled 'come in,' he opens it and steps inside.

"H-Hello, Mr. Evans." Ivan doesn’t know why he calls Damien that. He assumes it’s more out of respect or possibly out of fear of what the older being might do if he calls him by his name.

"What do you want, Ivan?" Damien snarls, making Ivan flinch.

"Um, could you possibly help me?" He asks, shrinking back. His breath hitches, and his heart leaps to his throat. Damien lets out a sigh and begrudgingly pushes back from his desk. He stands up impatiently and strides to the door.

"Make it fast," Damien growls. Ivan immediately lets out the breath he’s holding, waving for the older and far more powerful Morí to follow. He leads Damien back down the hallway and to the table where his book is laid open.

Ivan gestures to the page of the book, but Damien stays where he is. "What page is it?" He asks, leaning against the doorframe with his legs crossed.

"423?"

"That's chapter 6. The chapter on the Multiverse theory. Subjects covered in the chapter are theories of ways of getting to alternate worlds, the theory of multiple earths, and elements involved in the- Is the element Uranium?"

“How did you-”

“Uranium is used in nuclear power. It’s a radioactive, silver metal and is essential in making the 'portals to alternate worlds.' No one has ever made a successful portal, but it’s still necessary to the process. Its atomic number is 92 and was discovered in 1789 by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, and it was named after the planet Uranus.” The older Morí stops in his place and looks at Ivan, who is staring with wide eyes. “Are we done here?”

“Y-Yes. Thank you.”

“Good.” Damien spins on his heel and starts towards the door. In a brief moment of panic, Ivan reaches forward and grabs his sleeve. He turns on Ivan and glares, yanking his sleeve from the younger being’s hand and baring his teeth into a snarl. Ivan immediately recoils, hands dropping to his side and eyes widening in fear.

“Can-can I ask one more thing?” His voice stutters as he speaks, and he looks at the ground, anxiously scuffing his foot against it. He doesn't know why he's going to ask this, but it's too late to turn back. His hands are trembling, and he crosses his arms over his chest in hopes of making himself smaller. He takes multiple steps back, trying to get as far from Damien as he can.

Damien looks at the fearful posture of Ivan and lets out a sigh, relaxing his posture to look less threatening. “Fine.” Ivan relaxes slightly at the single word spoken and looks up, but doesn't meet Damien’s eyes. Damien is a force to be reckoned with, and he knows one step out of place might get himself killed.

"Am I… insignificant?"

"I was a little hungover.”

"But you were right! What's the point in it all? The universe is so… big, and I'm just so… small in comparison." Ivan's making hand gestures to accentuate his words, hating the feeling of unimportance that's coursing through him. Ivan knows Damien isn't one to apologize for his words. He also knows Damien isn't one for sentiment, but he is the only other Morí that is home at the moment, so Ivan's taking his chances.

"Small compared to what? How can you be smaller than that of which you are? That of which you're comprised of? That of which is comprised of you?” He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. “A stupid sentiment. It has no meaning."

"I'm confused,” Ivan admits, once again not meeting Damien’s eye. The older being isn't known for his patience, and yet here he is keeping a level-head as Ivan asks his questions and voices his thoughts.

Damien shakes his head lightly and pushes off the doorframe, walking towards Ivan and making him shrink back. Rather than getting closer to the fearful male, Damien takes to standing a few steps in front of him.

"Let's see what you've learned. What are the four main components of life?" He takes a step forward and gestures for Ivan to answer.

"Umm… Oxygen, Hydrogen… Carbon and…" His voice trails off, racking his brain for the answer. His face scrunches up in confusion, his gaze casting downwards as he thinks.

"Starts with an N."

"Nitrogen!" Ivan’s eyes light up as the word leaves his mouth, and the corner of Damien’s mouth twitches briefly into the start of a smile, but it drops as quickly as it came.

"Right. Now, what are the four main components of the universe?" He takes another step forward, standing in front of Ivan now. He kneels down until he's eye-level with the young Morí. Ivan's too caught up in his thoughts to process just how close he is to the ancient being and when he finally opens his mouth to answer, his breathing hitches, and he lets out a shaky breath as his bright blue eyes meet Damien's piercing gold ones.

"Um… I don't know."

"You just said them." Damien stands back up to his full height and steps back. "You see? You can't be smaller than that of which you are. Is your heart insignificant to you?"

"My heart is a part of me. It _is_ me." Ivan places his hand over his heart and feels it beat a little faster than normal against his palm.

"Just as we are the universe." Damien flashes one of his rare smiles and turns around, walking back in the direction of his room. Ivan just stands there, staring at the space that Damien once occupied. As much as Damien terrifies him, he wouldn't trade him for the world. As harsh and impatient as he could be at times, his caring side always ended up shining through his rough exterior.

Ivan smiles at the space and then turns back to his book, ready to learn more and glad to have the unimportant feeling gone.

Damien decides he isn't going to go back to his room right now. Instead, he decides to go to the kitchen and make himself some tea. He heats the water in the kettle and waits for it to finish. Once the kettle whistles, he pours the water into a mug and adds some chamomile and mint. He leans against the counter with his chin resting on his hand, sipping from the mug and dozing off every now and then.

“Good evening, Damien. I wasn’t expecting you to be out of your room when I got home.” Asher, one of the other older Morí in the Alliance, walks into the kitchen to see Damien slowly falling asleep.

Damien looks up from his spot, sleep still evident in his eyes. He smiles at Asher and Asher returns it as he makes his way over to Damien. Once at his side, he pulls Damien into him, crashing their lips together in a passionate kiss.

"I've missed you, my love," Damien mumbles against his lover's lips as he pulls away and presses light kisses to Asher’s cheeks, jawline, and throat. Asher loves this side of Damien, caring and affectionate, a side only he gets to see.

“I’ve missed you, too, Dames.” Asher presses a kiss to Damien’s head and then captures his lips in one more quick kiss. “I want to show you something.”

“Does it involve me getting shot?”

“It does not. You’ll love it. Promise.”

Damien sighs and takes Asher’s outstretched hand, allowing Asher to lead him wherever he was taking him. Asher pulls him out the back door and out into the forest behind the Alliance headquarters.

“We are headed suspiciously close to the training grounds, love.”

Asher just laughs at Damien’s inquiry, continuing to drag him to their destination. It takes them a solid twenty minutes of walking to get to wherever Asher was leading them, but when he does finally stop, he quickly spins around to Damien.

“Close your eyes and cover them. No peeking until I say.”

Despite being confused, Damien obeys and closes his eyes. Asher is quick to cover them with his hands, knowing Damien likes to cheat and peek. Asher presses a kiss to the back of Damien’s neck and starts pushing him forward lightly. Damien’s unsettled, to say the least. He dislikes the lack of sight at the moment, and fortunately for him, it doesn’t last long. Asher slowly moves his hands from his eyes, and he feels the slightly younger male’s breath ghosting against his ear.

“Open them.”

He opens his eyes to be greeted by the cliffside overlooking the ocean around the island. As breathtaking as that view alone is, his eyes focus more on the vast expanse of stars above them. The blackish-blue curtain drapes across the sky with millions of white specks twisting and warping into shapes. Damien’s eyes stay glued to the beautiful view, mouth stuck agape, and Asher can’t help but smile at his love’s awestruck face.

It’s at that moment that Damien’s mouth finally closes and drops to a frown. Ivan’s words ring in his head all of a sudden. _‘What’s the point in it all?’_

“Dames, you okay?”

"You've gotta wonder. Morí and Vitary don't perish with time. We've been around millions of years. Life's not worth much once the rest is gone. You get bored with the wind and the birds and the smell of pine.

“Life is like a piece of paper, and the writing is our lives. Our stories. When you only have 90 years, the ink turns to gold. So valuable are the words, the days you live, because soon the story will end. But what if you have a never-ending page, a bottomless inkwell? The more you write, the less it all means. That's our curse. We live so long that it's not even life anymore. We're not living forever. We're dying forever.”

Damien looks at Asher, a sad smile gracing his lips as their eyes meet. Asher steps forward and pulls Damien into a hug, just wanting him to be close at the moment.

“I had five lovers before I joined the Alliance. All gone now. And the one I really wanted… Well, the thrill is in the chase and never the capture. And he was too fast for me. And I liked it. Think I still have a goal in that respect.” Asher admits, smiling weakly and looking back at Damien. The look was heartbreaking and showed so many more emotions than just sadness. Damien lets out a shaky breath and presses a kiss to Asher’s head.

“We'll be alright.” The words are just barely above a whisper and sound as if he’s trying to assure himself just as much as he’s trying to assure Asher, but in some weird way, he believes them. He believes with Asher at his side that they can take on the world together. They just need each other, and they'll be alright.


End file.
